Ben-Hur wins 11 Academy Awards - Apr 04, 1960 - HISTORY.com Ben-Hur wins 11 Academy Awards Share this: Ben-Hur wins 11 Academy Awards Author Ben-Hur wins 11 Academy Awards URL Publisher A+E Networks Clocking in at three hours and 32 minutes, William Wyler’s Technicolor epic Ben-Hur is the behemoth entry at the 32nd annual Academy Awards ceremony, held on this day in 1960, at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Setting an Oscar record, the film swept 11 of the 12 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Charlton Heston). Wyler’s 1959 film was the latest dramatic adaptation of the mega-bestselling novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, published in 1880 by Lew Wallace. Wallace, a former general in the American Civil War, wrote his most successful novel after experiencing a new awakening of his Christian faith.

The book told the story of a young Jewish aristocrat, Judah Ben Hur, who chafes against the repressive Roman rule in Judea, loses his fortune and his family, but eventually triumphs over obstacles (thanks partially to the intervention of Jesus Christ). After Wallace’s novel was adopted into a long-running stage play in 1899 and a short film in 1907, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought the film rights and produced a major motion-picture version, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, in 1925. After DeMille scored a hit with a remake of his own 1923 biblical epic The Ten Commandments (1956), MGM decided to revive Ben-Hur as well. Wyler had worked on the set of DeMille’s 1925 version and the square-jawed Heston played Moses in The Ten Commandments. Filmed on location in Italy, on a budget of some $15 million, Ben-Hur was the most expensive movie ever made up to that point. The film’s famous chariot race scene alone took three weeks to shoot and used some 15,000 extras.

The setting for the race was constructed on 18 acres of back-lot space at Cinecitta Studios outside Rome. Aside from a few of the most daredevil stunts, Heston and Stephen Boyd (who played Messala, Judah Ben-Hur’s boyhood friend turned bitter enemy) did most of their own chariot driving. The payoff was big: Writing in his review of the film for the New York Times, Bosley Crowther called the scene a “stunning complex of mighty setting, thrilling action by horses and men, panoramic observation and overwhelming dramatic use of sound.” At the 1960 Oscars, Ben-Hur swept 11 categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith, playing an Arab sheik who befriends Ben-Hur), Best Color Cinematography, Best Color Art Direction/Set Direction, Best Sound, Best Score, Best Film Editing, Best Color Costume Design and Best Special Effects. It was also nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

Ben-Hur’s record number of Oscars still stands, although two films (1997’s Titanic and 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) have matched it. Related Videos CHARLTON HESTON'S AWARD PAGE-Info and Photos of Chuck Receiving his Awards THE PHOTOS BELOW ARE RARE AND WORTH THE WAIT TO CHUCK'S AWARD PAGE CHUCK WON HIS FIRST 'OSCAR' FOR BEST ACTOR PLAYING THE ROLE OF JUDAH BEN-HUR IN 1959 IN THE FILM TITLED BEN-HUR. THE FILM WON A TOTAL OF 11 ACADEMY AWARDS. IT HAS NOT BEEN SURPASSED BY ANY OTHER MOVIE---EQUALED ONLY WITH 'TITANTIC'(1998). THE OTHER ACTORS WHICH WERE NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTOR IN 1959 WITH CHUCK WERE: LAURENCE HARVEY (ROOM AT THE TOP), JACK LEMMON (SOME LIKE IT HOT), PAUL MUNI (THE LAST ANGRY MAN), AND JAMES STEWART (ANATOMY OF A MURDER).

ON THE WAY INTO THE AWARDS BANQUET, JIMMY STEWART STOPPED TO WISH CHUCK 'GOOD LUCK' AND HE ALSO TOLD CHUCK, "I HOPE YOU WIN, CHUCK---I REALLY MEAN THAT!" THIS WAS VERY SPECIAL TO CHUCK TO HAVE RECEIVED SUCH GOOD WISHES FROM AN ACTOR WHICH HE ADMIRED GREATLY. THE AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR WAS ANNOUNCED BY SUSAN HAYWARD, WHICH CO-STARRED WITH CHUCK IN HIS MOVIE: THE PRESIDENT'S LADY (1953). CHUCK WALKED UP TO THE STAGE TO ACCEPT HIS AWARD. HE KISSED SUSAN ON THE LEFT CHEEK AND WAS PRESENTED THE OSCAR. CHUCK'S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH IS BELOW: "I WOULD LIKE ESPECIALLY TO THANK WILLY, CHRISTOPHER FRYE & SAM ZIMBALIST--WHO GAVE MORE THAN ANY OF US. THANK YOU." PHOTOGRAPHS OF ALL AWARD WINNERS WERE TAKEN AFTERWARDS.

CHUCK WAS VERY HONORD AND PROUD TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE WINNERS OF THE ACADEMY AWARDS. BELOW ARE PICTURES OF CHUCK RECEIVING THE 'OSCAR' IN 1959 FOR BEST ACTOR PLACE YOUR CURSOR OVER THE PICTURE FOR INFO ON THEM PICTURES ABOVE & BELOW DONATED BY DOUG REEVES FIND VHS, DVDs, CDs, BOOKS, PHOTOS & POSTERS AT THE NEW CHARLTON HESTON WORLD'S ONLINE STORE BY CLICKING THE ICON BELOW FIND VIDEO BELOW BY CLICKING THE LINK CLICK NEXT TO SEE CHARLTON HESTON'S WALK OF FAME PAGE MORE AWARD PICTURES FOUND THERE Copyright & Copy: 2003 MonaK PICTURES BELOW DONATED BY CHUCKIEGAL COLOR PICTURE ABOVE OF CHUCK'S OSCAR DONATED BY JEFF ROVIN-AUTHOR OF 'THE FILMS OF CHARLTON HESTON' CLICK PHOTOS TO PURCHASE JEFF'S BOOK CHUCK WON HIS SECOND 'OSCAR' FOR THE JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD IN 1977.

HE RECEIVED THE AWARD AT THE 50TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS. BETTE DAVIS PRESENTED THIS AWARD TO CHUCK. A MONTAGE OF HIS WORKS WAS DISPLAYED-REVIEWING HIS FILM, STAGE AND HUMANITARIAN WORKS. THIS NIGHT WAS A MOMENT TO LOOK BACK ON A RICH AND REWARDING CAREER AS ONE OF HOLLYWOOD'S MOST ENDURING STARS. CHUCK MADE A BRIEF ACCEPTANCE SPEECH ENDING WITH THIS: "THIS AWARD IS A GREAT HONOR FOR WHICH I AM DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO RECEIVE.

" BELOW ARE PICTURES OF CHUCK RECEIVING THE 'OSCAR' IN 1977 FOR THE JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD PLACE YOUR CURSOR OVER THE PICTURE FOR INFO ON THEM 3 COLOR PICTURES BELOW DONATED BY DOUG REEVES BELOW ARE OTHER HONORS/AWARDS WHICH CHUCK HAS RECEIVED PLACE YOUR CURSOR OVER THE PICTURES FOR INO ON THEM PHOTO OF CHUCK RECEIVED THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN 1997 AT THE KENNEDY CENTER SOME OTHER AWARD AND NOMINATIONS CHUCK HAS RECEIVED ARE LISTED BELOW: AWARDS WON: 1950: Theatre World Award 1956: Golden Apple Award-Most Cooperative Actor 1962: Golden Globe: World Film Favorite--Male 1967: Golden Globe: Cecil B.

DeMille Award 1969: Western Heritage Award: For WILL PENNY 1972: Screen Actors Guild: Life Achievement Award 1984: Lifetime Achievement Awards ShoWest Convention, USA 1997: Dubbed Commander in the Order of the Arts and Letter: (the French Ministry of Culture's highest civilian decoration) 1997: Kennedy Center Honors: Lifetime Achievement Award 1998: Ashbrook Award 2001:The Harvey Award:Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana, PN. 2001:Martin Luther King, Jr. Award:Congress of Racial Equality 2002: NRA Presented Statue of 'Will Penny' in Chuck's Honor 2003: Presidential Medal of Freedom-Presented by Pres.

Bush (This medal is the highest civilian award given by the U.S.government) 2003: The American Film Institute(AFI): The Charlton Heston Award EMMY NOMINATIONS: 1952: Best Actor 1953: Best Actor 1966: Best Actor-Andersonville Diaries (TV) CHUCK IS HONORED WITH AN AWARD FROM AFI NAMED AFTER HIM: 'THE CHARLTON HESTON AWARD' HE IS THE FIRST RECIPIENT TO RECEIVE THIS AWARD IN 2003 CHUCK RECIEVES FROM PRESIDENT BUSH 'THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM ' THIS IS THE HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARD GIVEN BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IN 2003 President Bush congratulates actor Charlton Heston after presenting him with The Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House Wednesday, July 23, 2003 in Washington. The medal is the highest civilian award given by the U.S. government.

1959 Academy Awards® Winners and History Room at the Top (1959, UK) Actor: CHARLTON HESTON in "Ben-Hur" , Laurence Harvey in "Room at the Top", Jack Lemmon in "Some Like It Hot" , Paul Muni in "The Last Angry Man", James Stewart in "Anatomy of a Murder" Actress: SIMONE SIGNORET in "Room at the Top", Doris Day in "Pillow Talk", Audrey Hepburn in "The Nun's Story", Katharine Hepburn in "Suddenly, Last Summer" , Elizabeth Taylor in "Suddenly, Last Summer" Supporting Actor: HUGH GRIFFITH in "Ben-Hur" , Arthur O'Connell in "Anatomy of a Murder", George C.

Scott in "Anatomy of a Murder", Robert Vaughn in "The Young Philadelphians", Ed Wynn in "The Diary of Anne Frank" Supporting Actress: SHELLEY WINTERS in "The Diary of Anne Frank", Hermione Baddeley in "Room at the Top", Susan Kohner in "Imitation of Life", Juanita Moore in "Imitation of Life", Thelma Ritter in "Pillow Talk" Director: WILLIAM WYLER for "Ben-Hur" , Jack Clayton for "Room at the Top", George Stevens for "The Diary of Anne Frank", Billy Wilder for "Some Like It Hot" , Fred Zinnemann for "The Nun's Story" MGM's (producer Sam Zimbalist) and director William Wyler's three and a half-hour long epic drama Ben-Hur (with a spectacular sea battle and eleven minute chariot race choreographed by Yakima Canutt) broke the previous year's all-time record of Gigi (1958). It was the most-honored motion picture in Academy Awards history up to that time and for many years - until 1997, with its record-breaking eleven Oscars from twelve nominations.

And it was the most expensive film of its time, budgeted at $15 million. Ben-Hur was a re-make of MGM's own 1926 silent film of the same name, and the first and only re-make to have won the Best Picture award. Both films were based on or inspired by General Lew Wallace's novel (first published in 1880) about the rise of Christianity. Ironically, the famed director Cecil B. DeMille, who had made 'Ben-Hur-like' films throughout his lifetime - without the same awards success as the 1959 winner, died the same year (on January 21, 1959). The awards for the Best Picture film covered the following categories: Best Picture, Best Actor (Charlton Heston), Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith), Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Musical Score, Best Film Editing, Best Special Effects, and Best Costume Design. It lost out on only a single nomination, for Best Screenplay credited to Karl Tunberg (although other writers included Maxwell Anderson, S.N. Behrman, Christopher Frye, and Gore Vidal).

[The Best Screenplay Oscar was won by Neil Paterson for his intelligent script for Room at the Top.] The Best Picture's competition came from less sweeping dramas: director Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder (with seven nominations and no wins), a sensational small-town trial and courtroom drama regarding the suspected rape of an Army lieutenant's wife director George Stevens' The Diary of Anne Frank (with eight nominations and three wins - Best Supporting Actress, Best B/W Cinematography, and Best B/W Art Direction/Set Decoration), the overproduced story of the hiding of the Frank family in cramped conditions during the Nazi occupation Fred Zinnemann's religious melodrama taken from Kathryn Hulme's novel, The Nun's Story (with eight nominations and no wins), about a free-spirited young nun who worked in the Congo and Belgium during WWII director Jack Clayton's acclaimed and sensational British film Room at the Top (with six nominations and two wins - Best Actress and Best Screenplay), about the romance between a Yorkshire milltown worker and an older, unhappily married woman Four of the five Best Picture nominees were also Best Director-nominated.

Billy Wilder's signature film Some Like It Hot (with six nominations and one win - Best B/W Costume Design) about two unemployed musicians who disguise themselves as women in an all-girl band to escape gangsters, supplanted Best Picture-nominated Anatomy of a Murder as the fifth director-nominated film. Three stars of the socially-realistic, sexually-frank British-made film Room at the Top were nominated for acting awards: Laurence Harvey (with his sole nomination) as Best Actor for his performance as Joe Lampton - an ambitious, ruthless, working-class anti-hero and social climber engaged in a cruel affair - his most well-known film role British actress Hermione Baddeley (with her sole nomination) was nominated for Best Supporting Actress as music-teacher Elspeth (Simone Signoret's knowing friend). French actress Simone Signoret (with her first of two career nominations - and sole Oscar win) won the Best Actress award for her role as older married woman Alice Aisgill - the sexy, soon-abandoned, and suffering tragic mistress of a cynical, exploitative young opportunist (Laurence Harvey) Signoret was the first actress to ever receive an Oscar for a performance in a British or foreign-made film (a non-Hollywood film).

[The second French actress to be an Oscar winner was Juliette Binoche for her supporting role in The English Patient (1996).] The Best Actor winner was Charlton Heston in the title role of Ben-Hur as Judah Ben-Hur - a rich patrician Jew who is denounced as a traitor by former childhood friend and Roman commander Messala (Stephen Boyd) and sentenced to life as a Roman galley slave, while his mother and sister are sent to a leper colony. Reprieved after saving the life of a Roman commander, Ben-Hur returns to seek bitter revenge in the chariot race. It was Heston's only nomination and sole win in his long, distinguished film career in which he usually portrayed historical characters. Heston's win marked the first time a performer received an Oscar for a Biblical film role, possibly the result of block voting for the Best Picture winner.

Other Best Actor nominees included: the category's favorite - Jack Lemmon (with his second of eight career nominations) as Jerry/Daphne - a bass-playing musician-on-the-run in drag - one of his funniest and best roles - in director Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot Paul Muni (with his fifth and last career nomination) in his last performance as Dr. Sam Abelman - a Brooklyn Jewish doctor who selflessly helps the poor in director Daniel Mann's The Last Angry Man (with two nominations and no wins) James Stewart (with his fifth and last career nomination) as the small-town defense attorney Paul Biegler in Anatomy of a Murder - noted for its long trial scenes as he defends white Army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering a black tavern owner for allegedly raping his wife (Lee Remick) Laurence Harvey - see above The four nominees who lost the Best Actress Award to Simone Signoret included two Hepburns: Audrey Hepburn (with her third of five career nominations) as Sister Luke who eventually renounces her vows in The Nun's Story Katharine Hepburn (with her eighth of twelve career nominations) as an insane, wealthy dowager Mrs.

Venable who wishes that doctor Montgomery Clift would perform a lobotomy on her niece (co-star Elizabeth Taylor) in Gore Vidal's adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play by director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Suddenly, Last Summer (with three nominations and no wins) Elizabeth Taylor (with her third of four consecutive nominations) as Hepburn's mentally-disturbed niece Catherine Holly in Suddenly, Last Summer Doris Day (with her sole career nomination!) as Jan Morrow - a 'virgin' who shares a telephone party line with Rock Hudson in the romantic comedy by director Michael Gordon, Pillow Talk (with five nominations and one win - Best Story/Screenplay) - this was the first teaming of the two comedy stars in the popular series of films Two co-stars playing lawyers in Anatomy of a Murder received Best Supporting Actor nominations: George C.

Scott (with his first of four career nominations) as Claude Dancer - a slick, cynical prosecuting attorney Arthur O'Connell (with his second and last unsuccessful career nomination) as Parnell McCarthy - an alcoholic lawyer (co-star James Stewart's assistant) In addition, there were two others: Robert Vaughn (with his sole career nomination) was nominated for his role as Korean war veteran Chet Gwynn who is charged with murder and defended by an ambitious young Philadelphian lawyer (co-star Paul Newman) in director Victor Sherman's The Young Philadelphians (with three nominations and no wins) Ed Wynn (with his sole career nomination) for his performance as Albert Dussell - a dentist in hiding with the Franks in The Diary of Anne Frank In a surprise upset (Scott had a much superior performance), Welshman Hugh Griffith (with his first of two career nominations - and his sole Oscar win) won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar as colorful horse-training Arab Sheik Ilderim in Ben-Hur - his first American-made film.

[It would be another 44 years until another film would win both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Oscars - Mystic River (2003).] Two co-stars in Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life (with two nominations and no wins), a re-make of the 1934 film starring Claudette Colbert and film adaptation of Fannie Hurst's romantic novel - a weepy melodrama with Lana Turner, were nominated for Best Supporting Actress: Juanita Moore (with her sole nomination) as Annie Johnson - Lana Turner's self-sacrificing black maid twenty-three year old Susan Kohner (with her sole nomination) as Sarah Jane Johnson - Moore's light-skinned black daughter. [Kohner was the daughter of Mexican actress Lupita Tovar.] also, Thelma Ritter (with her fifth of six unsuccessful career nominations) was nominated for her role as Doris Day's imbibing housekeeper Alma in Pillow Talk The winner in the Best Supporting Actress category was Shelley Winters (with her second nomination - and first Oscar win) as Mrs.

Van Daan in director George Stevens' The Diary of Anne Frank - an indomitable mother, and one of the Jews hiding out from the Nazis with the Frank family in a cramped attic in Amsterdam. It was the first of Winters' mature, serious character roles. [Winters' first nomination was for a role in another Stevens film - A Place in the Sun (1951) . In 1965, she starred in her third Stevens film, The Greatest Story Ever Told, but won a nomination - and her second Oscar - for a role in director Guy Green's film A Patch of Blue (1965).] An Honorary Oscar, a bittersweet recognition, was awarded to the under-appreciated Buster Keaton, one of the silent screen's greatest comedic characters, who was known as 'The Great Stone Face.' His award was for "his unique talents which brought immortal comedies to the screen," such as Sherlock, Jr. (1924), The Navigator (1924), The General (1927) , Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) , and The Cameraman (1928).

Oscar Anomalies: Francois Truffaut's "French New Wave" film and first feature film, the semi-autobiographical The 400 Blows (Fr.) (aka Les Quatre Cents Coups) received only a single Best Writing: Original Story and Screenplay nomination, but no nomination in the Foreign Language Film category (won by Black Orpheus). And Jean-Pierre Leaud's performance was snubbed as frustrated 12 year-old Parisian schoolboy and juvenile offender Antoine Doinel who was placed in a detention work camp - the film was famous for the ending (with a zoom and freeze-framed shot) in which the boy fled toward the beach and seashore. Similarly, Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries received only one nomination for Best Writing: Story and Screenplay. Unbelievably, both films lost their sole nominations to Pillow Talk. Oscar Snubs and Omissions: Because of the sweep by Ben-Hur , many other films were bypassed, including Hitchcock (again!), for another MGM film - the definitive caper film North By Northwest . Although the film had three minor nominations, it was ignored in the Best Picture, Best Director, and all acting categories.

Cary Grant, playing a debonair Roger Thornhill - a Manhattan ad executive and the victim of mistaken identity (believed to be a secret agent), the cool Eva Marie Saint, villain James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis in a supporting role as Grant's mother Clara, and the score by Bernard Herrmann were seriously ignored by the Academy. Stephen Boyd deserved a Best Actor or Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Messala (when compared to Hugh Griffith's nomination/win as Best Supporting Actor). And Howard Hawks' outstanding Rio Bravo with John Wayne as sheriff John T. Chance, Dean Martin as Dude, and Angie Dickinson as Feathers - the director's response to High Noon (1952) and similar in its cast composition to Red River (1948) , received no nominations! Single Oscar winner Some Like It Hot (for Black and White Costume Design) received nominations for Best Actor (Jack Lemmon), Best Director (Billy Wilder), and Best Screenplay (Billy Wilder), but the nominations overlooked the following: its Best Picture potentiality Tony Curtis in a cross-dressing, dual role as Joe/Josephine (and often playing Cary Grant in impersonations) Joe E.

Brown as love-struck, ardent suitor and millionaire Osgood E. Fielding III and Marilyn Monroe in her quintessential comedic role as the breathy, bourbon-swigging, sexy, ukulele-strumming singer Sugar Kane Kowalczyk in an all-girls band (memorably singing I Wanna Be Loved By You) And Lee Remick was un-nominated for her role as slutty, allegedly-raped Laura Manion (wife of Army Lieutenant Ben Gazzara) in the oft-nominated but completely bypassed Anatomy of a Murder. Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries (1957), considered for awards in 1959, received only one unsuccessful nomination for Best Original Screenplay (Bergman). Both Bergman and Victor Sjostrom were snubbed as Best Director and Best Actor (as Professor Borg) respectively.

Why "Ben-Hur" is My Favorite Movie WHY "BEN-HUR" IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE Or, How Non-Believers Mayeth Enjoy a Perennial Easter Favorite THE DAILY OBJECTIVIST (21 APRIL 2000) By Chris Matthew Sciabarra [On 14 April 2000, TDO published Sciabarra's list of favorite movies taken from his " Favorite Things " page. Sciabarra received a number of emails from Objectivists, who are atheists, asking him to explain his choice of "Ben-Hur"--a film with a religious theme--as his favorite movie of all time.

What follows is a slightly expanded version of Sciabarra's TDO published response; given the reappearance of the ancient epic in film, in such movies as "Gladiator," "Alexander," and "Troy," and of the Christ story, in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ," this discussion of "Ben-Hur" remains timely.] Within days after The Daily Objectivist reprinted my lengthy list of favorite movies, I received mail from disgruntled readers upset by the "random" quality of my choices, which seemed, they said, to bear "no relation" to one another or to Objectivism. Though I had prefaced my list with a warning against the disease of PC ("Philosophical Correctness") within Objectivism, I was not surprised by the charred epistles I received. One reader, however, was especially disturbed by the choice of "Ben-Hur" as my favorite film of all time. In a post to the movies@wetheliving.com discussion group, he argued that while the film had "some fantastic action sequences...the plot resolution is a literal deus ex machina: Christ shows up, cures everyone of leprosy and saves the day.

Certainly this deserves some kind of demerit from a rational (not to say artistic) perspective." Since the published list had no more than two or three sentences of explanation attached to each entry, I think it is worthwhile to offer some explanation at least for my choice of "Ben-Hur" as my all-time #1. How it all began When I was nine years old, I saw "Ben-Hur" at New York City's majestic Palace Theater. It was the tenth anniversary re-release of the all-time Oscar champ, and the movie was being shown in all its magnificent 70-millimeter glory. Walking into the Palace, seeing the famous portrait of Judy Garland, who had just passed away, and then taking in some three and a half hours of ancient Roman spectacle, was an overwhelming experience. I loved the story and was as deeply moved by its characters and themes as any nine-year-old could be. Today, after having seen the film umpteen times, I have learned to appreciate it on many different levels.

The film, among the 100 greatest selected by the American Film Institute , won an unprecedented eleven Academy Awards (tied in 1998 by "Titanic" [and in 2004 by "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"]), and has been celebrated by directors from Martin Scorsese to James Cameron for its immense artistic impact. In my view, there is not a single Oscar award that it did not deserve. The cinematography, film editing, art direction, set decoration, sound, and special effects are superb. Its score, written by the great Mikl�s R�zsa , is among the finest achievements in symphonic soundtrack music ever recorded; in fact, the themes stand on their own as orchestral compositions in their eloquent expression of passion, struggle, and redemption. (For an introduction to the importance of orchestral scores from an Objectivist perspective, see Jeff Britting's essay, "Romantic Music: Dead or Alive?," in ART Ideas 5, no. 3 (1998): 7-8.) Charlton Heston's "Best Actor" performance (in the title role) is one of the most nuanced of his career.

Hugh Griffith's supporting actor performance (as Sheik Ilderim, owner of the horses that Ben-Hur rides to victory in the chariot race) and William Wyler's remarkable direction were also worthy recipients. (The only Oscar the movie failed to grab was the one for "Best Screenplay," an omission that can probably be chalked up to Hollywood politics. The script involved everyone from Karl Tunberg to Christopher Fry; even Gore Vidal got into the act. Wyler was livid that Tunberg was the only nominee, and he publicly praised Fry's contributions in Variety. The controversy apparently led most Academy members to vote for "Room at the Top" instead of "Ben-Hur.") Ultimately, however, it matters not how many awards or accolades a film garners. What matters is the film. Is it a work of art worthy of our attention? Such a question has much to do with the plot and the theme, which is why some Objectivists might be disturbed by my selection of a film explicitly subtitled "A Tale of the Christ." Levels of appreciation But as Ayn Rand tells us, there are many levels on which we can appreciate art.

Rand lists four dimensions of appreciation: the literal (which pertains to the specific events of the story); the connotative (which pertains to the values portrayed or suggested through the events); the symbolic (which operates on a deeper level of meaning); and the emotional (which encapsulates our spiritual response to art). "Ben-Hur" is based on the post-Civil War novel (1880) written by General Lew Wallace. Translated into a well-known play, and into three cinematic versions (the one-reeler 1907 version, the sprawling 1925 MGM version with Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman, and the 1959 MGM epic), the book, says C. L. Bennet, is "one of the most successful works of fiction ever written in any language." As a film, it is at once passionate and subtle, both action-packed entertainment and a testament to aesthetic symbolism. No brief summary of the story can do it justice, for there are many interconnected characters and subplots. Here, I present the essentials.

The film tells the story of a wealthy Jew, Prince Judah Ben-Hur, who is reunited with his boyhood friend, Messala (played by Stephen Boyd), who saved Ben-Hur's life when they were boys. The strong emotional ties between these two characters have been described as "homoerotic" by Gore Vidal, who had a small hand in the script. Upon their meeting, they hug and laugh, and, arms intertwined, drink to their mutual happiness. They throw spears in friendly competition, hitting the same target ("where the beams cross"--an omen of the crosses to come), "still close in every way"--except one: Messala is a Roman in a Roman world...Ben-Hur is a Jew. Messala has returned to the province of Judea a Tribune of Imperial Rome, in the hopes of making Ben-Hur a collaborator in Roman rule. When Ben-Hur refuses to name the freedom fighters among his people, the friendship is irreparably fractured. Later, Ben-Hur and his sister Tirzah (played by Cathy O'Donnell) watch from the roof of their home as the new Roman Governor, Valerius Gratus, enters the unfriendly city with Messala.

There is an accident: Tirzah leans on some loose tiles that fall to the street and strike the governor. Ben-Hur takes the blame, swearing it is an accident, but Messala will hear none of it. He orders Ben-Hur, his mother, and his sister into custody. And though he discovers the loose tiles himself, he wishes to make an example of the family of Hur. This one action, knows Messala, will strike fear into the hearts of potential Judean terrorists. An oath of vengeance As Messala sends him off to slavery in the galleys of the Roman fleet, Ben-Hur swears revenge. He leaves behind his mother, Miriam--played by Martha Scott, who also played the mother of Moses (Heston) in "The Ten Commandments"--and sister, who are sentenced to prison as co-conspirators in the attempted assassination of Gratus. Ben-Hur also leaves behind a woman named Esther (played by Haya Harareet), daughter of his steward, Simonides (played by Sam Jaffe).

(The ties between Esther and Ben-Hur are not immediately consummated, but their romantic bond is clear.) Crossing the desert on the way to the galleys, Ben-Hur nearly dies of thirst. He is given water by a young Nazarene, a carpenter's son. His strength is renewed, his life saved. The symbolism of the water, its cleansing power and life-giving qualities, is used in so many instances throughout the film that it merits an essay in and of itself. After three years as a galley slave, Ben-Hur, who has been reduced to a number ("41"), meets the Consul of Rome, Commander Quintus Arrius (played by Jack Hawkins). Arrius tells the galley slaves that they are all condemned men who will die chained to their oars: "We keep you alive to serve this ship. So row well and live." Despite the brief on-screen time they share, the scenes between Heston and Hawkins are striking in depth.

(See especially the camera cuts that flash their expressions during a test of wills, as Arrius orders the Hortator to increase his rhythm to "ramming speed"--the galley slaves rowing faster and faster, collapsing all around, while Ben-Hur finds the strength to go on.) As a harrowing naval battle against a fleet of Macedonian ships looms, Arrius gives Ben-Hur a chance to survive. In the violent hand-to-hand combat that follows, Arrius is thrown overboard; Ben-Hur dives into the water, dragging him to safety on a floating piece of wood. Thinking the war lost, Arrius wishes only to die. But as they sit safely on the raft, Ben-Hur tells him to "row well and live." Meanwhile, back in Judea When Arrius returns safely to Rome to meet the Emperor Tiberius in a Victory Parade, traveling with Ben-Hur by his side, the emperor allows the Consul to take Ben-Hur as his slave, as reward for his valor. Ben-Hur learns to drive Arrius's chariots to victory in the Roman games.

And although Arrius adopts Ben-Hur as his son, in place of the son he lost, he knows that Ben-Hur yearns to return to Judea in search of his mother and sister. Return he does, as the Young Arrius, ordering Messala to find his mother and sister or pay the consequences. Some four years after their imprisonment, they are now thought dead. But they are discovered in the lower levels of a Judean prison--lepers. On their way to the Valley of the Lepers, they stop at the house of Hur, now in darkness and disarray. Miriam and Tirzah beg Esther not to tell Ben-Hur of their plight; she swears on her love for him to respect their wishes and to tell him that they are dead. Devastated by this news, driven by desires for revenge, Ben-Hur confronts Messala in the Judean circus. The ensuing chariot race (copied to some extent by Lucas in "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace") is among the greatest single cinematic achievements in the history of film. Ben-Hur emerges victorious. But with his dying breath, Messala exacts one last cruelty on his old friend.

He tells Ben-Hur that his mother and sister are alive, and that he can find them in the Valley of the Lepers: "if you can recognize them." Indeed, says Messala, "the race is not over." Broken, sobbing, and helpless, Ben-Hur begins a slow descent into spiritual corruption. Though a new citizen of Rome, he knows that he has become "part of a [larger] tragedy." He becomes self-pitying, consumed by hate, disgusted with the world at large. He wants to cleanse the land in blood. He laments ever having taken a sip of the stranger's water in the desert. "I should have done better if I'd poured it into the sand. I'm thirsty still." Pontius Pilate (played by Frank Thring), the newly-appointed Roman governor, fears Ben-Hur's growing influence and instructs him to Rome before "crucifying" himself "on a shadow such as old resentment or impossible loyalties. Perfect freedom," claims Pilate, "has no existence." But Ben-Hur renounces his ties to Rome. He begins to understand how the authoritarian power of the Empire corrupts the best among men (shades of Rand's We the Living).

Not only was his friend corrupted, Ben-Hur declares, but he himself is "unclean...and at the mercy of tyranny." He understands Pilate's point that the world is Rome (indeed, Rome would be the world, the given, for another 400 years). But if full political freedom for his people is not immediately possible, it is still possible--and necessary--to seek a rational life in an irrational society. Or as the Christ figure says in another MGM epic, "King of Kings"--while it may not be possible to be freed from one's prison cell, it is still possible to be free within one's prison cell. What Ben-Hur seeks is peace within himself, even as he contemplates death. Checks premises But Esther tells Ben-Hur that "death generates death." She pleads with him to listen to the words of peace being spoken by the Rabbi from Nazareth. When Ben-Hur, committed to the destructive path before him, refuses, she declares: "It was Judah Ben-Hur I loved. What has become of him? You seem to be now the very thing you set out to destroy, giving evil for evil. Hatred is turning you to stone.

It's as if you had become Messala." Stunned by the comparison, Ben-Hur checks his premises. He eventually travels to the Valley of the Lepers, and, with Esther, finds his sick mother and dying sister. They begin a search for the Nazarene. The search is stillborn. Condemned by Pilate, Christ walks to his death on Golgotha. Ben-Hur recognizes the man--he is the man who had given him water in the desert, and the will to live. He attempts to return that gift, struggling with Roman guards to give Christ a sip of water. But the water barely touches Christ's lips before it is kicked to the ground. A witness to Christ's execution, and of Christ's courageous ability to rise above a state of metaphysical torment, Ben-Hur begins to reassert his own will to live. As a storm commences, the blood of Christ drips into puddles of water, which carry this most precious blood throughout the countryside. It is ironic that Ben-Hur would have cleansed the world in blood, for here blood and water merge.

In a powerful series of mythic images, the cleansing rain falls on the lepers, and at the moment of Christ's death, they too are cleansed. Ben-Hur tells Esther that he felt Christ's voice, Christ's call for forgiveness, telling him to take the "sword" out of his hand. The physical miracle, which he celebrates upon seeing his mother and sister alive and well, is a symbol of the greater spiritual miracle: for in the end, Ben-Hur reclaims his values, and his life with those he loves. In the earliest scenes of the movie, the centurion Sextus had told Messala that he wondered how the Romans would ever control Judea given the powerful "ideas" that fuel its struggle for freedom. Messala answered: "You ask how to fight an idea. Well, I'll tell you how: with another idea." And so the conflicts in the film are conflicts of ideas: of individual liberty versus state power, of love versus hate, of values versus their extinction, of salvation versus corruption.

The film is indeed bracketed by two divine events: the first scenes concern the Adoration of the Magi and the final scenes take place in the shadow of Christ's Cross, as we witness shepherds tending to their flock. Christ makes a few cameo appearances, but we never actually see his face or hear him speak. More than anything, we feel in him the symbolic presence of the call for personal redemption in the face of oppressive tyranny and self-exile. About the same age as Christ, Ben-Hur is also on trial, and like the soon-to-be resurrected Christ, Ben-Hur must triumph over the darkness. [The parallels with Christ are quite explicit actually; when Ben-Hur wins the chariot race, Pilate, the Roman Governor, places the crown of victory upon his head and declares Ben-Hur the cheering crowd's "one true god, for the moment"--foreboding another who will stand before Pilate, wearing upon his head a crown of thorns.] With this "tale of the Christ" taken as backdrop, the film deploys the motif of birth, death, and rebirth with great effectiveness.

(Indeed, the opening credits of the film and its very last frames display God's bestowal upon Adam of the spark of life as depicted in the Sistine Chapel.) All things possible And so it is possible for a perennial Easter favorite to have meaning for non-believers and even for atheistic Objectivists: for "Ben-Hur" can be read in much more secular terms. The film focuses on how the central character moves from his own unjust imprisonment, to his self-imprisonment via the very vices he seeks to destroy, to his personal redemption. Interestingly, Ayn Rand herself counted a Biblical work of historical fiction as among her favorites. She regarded Quo Vadis? by Henryk Sienkiewicz as one of the greatest novels ever written.

In fact, Rand tells Ross Baker (Letters of Ayn Rand, 11 December 1945, 251): "A book expert in New York told me that the biggest fiction sellers of all times (and the surest recipe for a bestseller) have always been religious novels with a good story (Ben-Hur, Quo Vadis?, The Robe [all made into spectacular epic films--CMS] )--and that The Fountainhead is a religious novel [insofar as] it gives to . . . readers . . . a sense of faith, courage and moral uplift." Clearly, Rand was impressed by other works of Western mythology as well, given her own use of the Prometheus myth, and her own creative construction of novels that might be viewed as epic myths. Many Objectivists would not think twice about recommending Greek and Roman myths and legends, such as "Jason and the Argonauts," "Hercules," "The Iliad and the Odyssey," "The Aeneid," or even modern myths like "Star Wars." Yet they recoil in Philistine horror over reverence for such a masterpiece as "Ben-Hur," which revolves around the Christ story.

The Biblical "mythology" of the New Testament is one of the "greatest stories ever told." It has influenced some of the most passionate literature, art, and music in the Western canon. "Ben-Hur" makes great use of this imagery and conveys through it a powerful message of individual struggle and salvation. Thumbs up; way up.

Question: How many Academy Awards were won by the film Ben - Hur?
Answer: 11